Minister of state for agriculture Sanjeev Balyan on Tuesday criticised Uttar Pradesh minority welfare and urban development minister Azam Khan, saying the latter was responsible for all the rampant evil in the Samajwadi Party-ruled state.

Balyan told news agency ANI, “Azam Khan is the most powerful leader in UP and the problem is that he is the root of all wrongdoing. He is the one who releases criminals from prisons, protect them and then later complains about them too.”

Reacting to allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party was at the helm of the Dadri lynching case, Balyan asserted it was unimaginable that a worker of the ruling party at the Centre could be behind it.

“Since the SP can’t do their job, they are trying to run away from their responsibilities by blaming others. If they cannot take responsibilities, they must leave the state as there are others who can take care efficiently,” Balyan added.

Azam Khan had on Monday said that he would take the issue of rampant communal violence in India to the United Nations and also appealed to prime minister Narendra Modi to stop those who are spreading violence and communalism across the country.